The internet has come a long way in ten years. It is crazy to think that my younger cousins were born after the birth of the internet; heck they don’t even know what a Nintendo is. Along with faster and more reliable internet came the birth of being able to stream media. In order to watch your favorite television shows you had to either record it or wait till it came back on during the week, but with the internet and on demand television you can watch your favorite shows whenever and where ever you want. Another thing that came about was website dedicated solely to watching television and movies whenever you wanted. Netflix is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of live streaming media. Netflix was the first legitimate company that offered you a way of watching your favorite movies. They have one of the most expansive collections of movies and television. since the birth of Internet streaming, sites like Hulu, and Crunchyroll, have appeared to help fill the gaps.
Network television has been the long running supplier of original television content. Networks like HBO, AMC, and CBS are pumping out hit shows and original content every year as if they tapped into some never ending stream of ideas. Having the money to back up very in depth and complicated shows has allowed companies like HBO, AMC, and BBC America to pump out hit shows like Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and The Sopranos just to name a small fraction. The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad are both AMC originals that dominated the ratings for many years. Breaking Bad ended its long run on AMC after five gritty seasons, while The Walking Dead is running full steam ahead rolling into season five. When you have shows like that gracing your television, you would think that no one would take the risk of creating internet only content.
Hulu and Netflix have both taken that first step into challenging Television for original content. Netflix has spent quite a bit of money trying to put together solid programming that would draw people away from television and to their site. Shows like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards have proved that Netflix can and will stand their ground in an attempt to draw in more customers. While their original content is limited to what Hulu has, Netflix has established that it wants to be more than just a movie hub. Hulu started itself as probably the better choice if you wanted to catch the television shows that you missed that week; while Netflix doesn’t allow you to do that. Hulu took a risk and began pumping out their own original content with shows like The Awesomes, Quick Draw, and Dead Beat.
Hulu, while having a bigger line up than Netflix, lacks the pull that Netflix does with original content. Will this always be the case? Only time will tell, as Netflix has the bankroll to take risks on original content while Hulu is just getting its feet wet. The cult show Community was recently canceled by NBC but Yahoo decided to pick up the show for its sixth season. It is surprising that Hulu didn’t try to buy the show as that could have been a big boost to their lineup.
It seems that there is a chance that the streaming content providers, with their internet only show, can pick up some large revenue with their content but they will need to take some big risks if they want to start pulling in more viewers. When you have shows like The Big Bang Theory, The Walking Dead, Mad Men, and Game of Thrones on network TV, they will have a hard road to travel to compete. Only time will tell if Netflix and Hulu can gain some ground, but it will take some capital and some risk for them to be able to even get a foothold in the hopes of pulling away the throngs of loyal viewers that swarm to their televisions every night.
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